It's Bad Enough We Get along So Well
by XAkatcutiesX
Summary: When Orochimaru was interested in something, he studied it thoroughly. His newest obsession was none other than Sasori, and he'd had the fortunate opportunity to be paired with the puppet on their latest mission, something that the snake-nin took great delight in and that Sasori absolutely despised.


**Set during the Akatuski's early days; they've formed in the same way as "Creation of the Akatsuki" from the game, so Orochimaru joined after fighting Sasori, if that helps this thing make sense x) not meant to be taken too seriously, I just wanted to write a Stalker-y Orochimaru. Inspired by the song "Goodnight and Go" by Imogen Heap.**

 **xxx**

When Orochimaru was interested in something, he studied it thoroughly. His newest obsession was none other than Sasori, and he'd had the fortunate opportunity to be paired with the puppet on their latest mission, something that the snake-nin took great delight in and that Sasori absolutely despised.

The red head still hadn't gotten over the fact that even though he'd beaten Orochimaru, the raven had still had the nerve to ask to join the Akatsuki, and that Pein had actually agreed despite Sasori's complaints.

Now the two were sitting in a small café in the village where their target was supposed to be located. Orochimaru had dragged them into the little building, sitting in a booth near the back and ordering something light to eat. Sasori refused the menu, he didn't have the internal organs to process food, and so his outer shell, Hiruko, sat staring vacantly at the wall.

Orochimaru wondered what Sasori was doing inside the container puppet. He smirked, having a few guesses that were pretty accurate: the red headed puppet was most likely cursing Orochimaru for making them stop somewhere so trivial when there was a bounty they were supposed to be taking care of.

"It's a shame, really, that you hardly come out of that awful puppet," Orochimaru purred after his food had arrived. He took a bite and gave a sly smile as Hiruko's head turned to look at him. "Don't look at me like that."

"Why does it matter whether I'm inside or outside this puppet?" the gruff voice of Hiruko doesn't mask the irritation of Sasori's real voice. Orochimaru doesn't answer but thinks about how it does matter because Sasori's true form is so much more interesting to look at than this ugly lump in front of him.

And to think he'd been able to fight one-to-one with that beautiful, forever-preserved body. Sasori had even brought out the third Kazekage, his _favorite_ puppet, just for Orochimaru. The raven felt truly honored.

However, not as honored as he should be; since then, he'd only seen the redhead's true form a handful of times. "Such a shame," he muses. _You get me every time._

Hiruko's hard eyes stare back at him.

X

They manage to complete the mission and drop the bounty off at the collection office. Sasori stores the money gained inside one of the various compartments in Hiruko. He doesn't really believe Orochimaru would steal or is even interesting in the money, it's more that he does it out of spite. Besides, in this organization, the puppet has "seniority" over Orochimaru, and reminds the snake-nin of that every chance he gets. Orochimaru finds it endearing.

They make camp far into the forest that night; Orochimaru needs sleep and Hiruko managed to become damaged during their skirmish with their bounty. Nothing major, just a slightly splintered arm, but Sasori wishes to fix it before it becomes a bigger problem.

Orochimaru builds a fire and catches a fish in a river nearby to cook. Sasori's still hiding inside his shell, will probably remain there until Orochimaru is sleeping. For someone who is so impatient, he sure does keep the snake-nin waiting an awful lot.

"I'll take watch," Hiruko's voice says, giving his partner 'permission' to sleep. Orochimaru acknowledges him with a smirk before unzipping his Akatsuki cloak and folding it up to use as a pillow. He lies down, head turned to face the container, knowing that Sasori doesn't find it weird – neither can really trust each other still, so it's not usual that the raven wouldn't turn his back to him while he slept.

He closes his golden eyes, and it's hours of feigning sleep before he finally hear the tell-tale signs of Sasori exiting Hiruko. He opens an eye just as Sasori removes the cloak on his real body, not wanting to get it dirty working on his puppet. With the redhead's back to him, Orochimaru can stare all he wants, taking in the curve of Sasori's bare back. The puppet sits on his feet as he goes to work, doing a quick job of temporarily fixing the splintered hand.

The steadiness of his hands only make Orochimaru that much more interested in him. He's a puppet, of course he wouldn't have the same clumsiness of his human counterparts. He's perfect. Relaxed and following into his routine of puppetry. _And you think you're alone._

Sasori stiffens; Orochimaru knew he'd catch on eventually. "You know, Sasori, I really do enjoy seeing you outside of Hiruko."

"Don't get used to it," the red head replies, returning to his work, even as Orochimaru slithers up behind him to look over his shoulder. "I'm pairing up with our new member when we recruit him. You and I won't be working together after this."

"Oh, that's too bad," the pale man says. "We make such a good pair, I think. It'll be hard to part, it's bad enough we get along so well." He's right behind Sasori, places his hands just below his heart and above his coil. "Don't you think?" The reply he gets back is only interpreted by pain, and Orochimaru smirks through it all.

That's the last time he has any sort of physical interaction with the puppet, and all of his future would-be conversations with Sasori go ignored. After that night, they're never partnered together again; Sasori pairs up with their new member, Deidara, who is also an artist. However, the puppet appears to dislike this fellow as well, though not nearly as much as he despises Orochimaru.

The snake-nin himself is given a mission a few weeks later with Itachi Uchiha, and that's when his interest in Sasori is put to the side and his new obsession begins.

Xxx

 **Thanks for reading this strange mess!**


End file.
